Life After the Death
by Flying Snapdragon
Summary: Artemis is living in the Haven two and a half years after he is brought back to life. Captain Holly Short is having trouble coming to terms with her feelings for her now 18 year old friend.
1. Chapter 1

It has been three years since Opal Koboi's final attempt to take over the world. Two and a half years since Artemis Fowl's spirit had taken residence in his clone's body. He had woken with no memories of who he was and the things he done, the good or the bad. He'd learned most of what had happened from Captain Holly Short, and he couldn't even react with disbelief at the notion of fairies when the evidence itself had told him the story. His family had been overjoyed to see him, though they'd had a hard time believing it at first. Having just been brought into the loop about Artemis' dealings with fairies, his father in particular had a hard time accepting this miracle, but with the help of his wife, who had already known some details about Artemis' escapades, he was able to see the gift he had been given for what it was. Myles and Beckett had not been told of the existence of fairies, as they were too young to be suspicious of Artemis' miraculous reappearance, though Myles had been a little skeptical.

However, as Artemis had been officially declared dead, and had actually been seen dead in a coffin at his funeral, he could not just reintegrate himself into society. So with protests from various groups of fairies and several political arguments among the Council, Artemis was allowed to live below ground with the People, where he is currently working as a consultant for the LEP with Foaly. Over the three years since his return, Artemis had recovered most of his memories, and had never lost his intelligence in the first place.

_Or his ego_, thought Holly, snorting. She was currently watching an argument between Foaly and Artemis in full swing. It had become an everyday occurrence between the two LEP consultants who were supposedly working together, a thought that nearly made Holly laugh out loud. Foaly and Artemis worked together about as well as two male trolls competing over a female troll in heat. To the centaur's never-ending chagrin, He was bested by Artemis more times than not when they were competing in technological progression. Holly was currently waiting for the two of them to wrap it up so she and Artemis could go home. She and Artemis usually went home together, so she could protect from any fairies that were upset enough to attack the first human to be allowed to live in their underground world in, well, ever. _As well_ _as from his own clumsiness_, she thought as Artemis tripped over his own feet on his way to her, his argument with Foaly won judging from the smug look on his face, and from the frustrated one on Foaly's. Butler was living down here too, of course, and this had originally been one of his duties, but in order to follow his charge to Haven, he had to do something to contribute to the fairy society, which he did by helping the LEP on missions. Due to this he was away from his principal far more often than he would have liked. Therefore, he asked Holly to look out for Artemis.

She didn't have a problem with it, really she didn't. It was just that lately, she felt so confused around him. After he'd tricked her into believing that she had been the cause of his mother's illness, she'd been so sure that the only thing she would ever feel for him again was respect. Then they'd managed to get their relationship back to friendship. By the time he'd sacrificed his life to save the world, she had been to the point of thinking of him as her best friend. And now, she was feeling an attraction for him that rivaled what she'd felt when she'd been stuck in her teenage body. She just couldn't understand herself. Not only was he a human that was several decades younger than her, he was a very irritating Mud Man. And perhaps that was the crux of the problem. Artemis was a man now; he was taller, his features more mature, and even his muscles were more defined. He'd become quite handsome. She even found herself thinking of how he'd willingly confessed his deception to her about his mother. The Artemis as she'd first known him would not have felt guilty enough to tell her the truth, if indeed, he felt any guilt at something so insignificant to him back then. The turmoil of her thought kept her quiet for the entire trip to Artemis' house.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I quite obviously to not own Artemis Fowl, no matter how awesome my writing is. Eoin Colfer does. **_

Artemis was examining Holly discreetly out of the corner of his eye, concerned. She'd been unusually quiet since they'd left Headquarters, and he didn't understand why. It wasn't as if Holly was a chatterbox or anything, but she usually bantered with him and laughed when he tripped over his two left feet. Yet she hadn't said a single word, not even and exasperated sigh when he'd nearly fallen flat on his face while stepping onto the Stick. She just continued walking with a frown of concentration on her face, and for all of his genius, Artemis couldn't figure out why. It was not a good feeling for a genius who was used to being able to solve practically any problem that came his way. But sometimes other people's actions confused him like that. And since he did _not_ like the feeling of not knowing something, naturally, he asked a question.

"Holly, is there something preoccupying you?"

. . .

Holly started a little at the sound of Artemis' voice, but quickly masked her lack of composure. Then what he'd said registered in her mind, and she cursed herself for letting Artemis see that something was bothering her. She knew better than to lose focus around him; being a genius, he always noticed every lapse in behavior, no matter how small. Her silence throughout the journey home as she wrestled with her thoughts would have been like a flashing neon sign about her state of confusion to his scientifically trained observational skills. She absolutely could not give Artemis even an inkling about what her thoughts revolved around, so of course she had to bluff.

"I'm just a bit grumpy because it was a slow day at work," she said, carefully timing it so that it didn't sound like the excuse that it was. It was actually true though. It had been a slow day at work, and she'd been very frustrated by the lack of reprieve from her restless thoughts. For now though, she had to push her agonizing to the side so as not to arouse Artemis' suspicions again.

Artemis nodded, seemingly satisfied, but Holly didn't let her guard down. He could be an excellent actor when he chose to be, and he might decide to pursue the topic again later if he found her response less than satisfying. She did her best not to deviate from her usual manner until they parted ways, thanking her lucky stars that she could also be a pretty good actor when she had to be. Of course, the second they parted ways her complicated feelings rose to the surface of her thoughts again. And she didn't even know why she was thinking about it so much. While she had been aware for quite some time now, it wasn't until just recently that she couldn't stop the subject from filling her head every waking moment. It would probably be best if she tried to distance herself from the problem, or at least trying to forget about it completely. And with that, her mind was made up, and she went the rest of her way home relatively at peace with herself.

. . .

Artemis was now quite certain that something was wrong with Holly. Ever since that first awkward trip home from work, she'd been throwing herself into work with a vigor that astonished him, while in the process avoiding him. She still made the journey home from work with him on the days Butler wasn't able to, but it was a cheerless affair, and laden with silence. Artemis thought that perhaps she was mad at him, but couldn't remember doing anything that would cause her anger. Quite frankly, he was stumped, and it was not a feeling he was accustomed to. If it were a matter of science, he could do research and would have it completely figured out in a few hours time, if that. But it seemed like this was a matter of the heart, and no amount of research could help him find an answer. This was not to say he hadn't tried. He had read several books about matters of the heart in the past days, and still had found nothing. He'd even gone so far as to consult with Butler, but he had been of no help. Foaly had flat out laughed at him when he had learned of Artemis' dilemma. And so there was nothing that he could do but wait and hope something would happen erase this new distance between he and Holly.

_**A/N: Sorry that this chapter isn't as long as I'd hoped it would be. I'll try to make up for it by adding new chapters frequently. **___


End file.
